After being pushed to the limit by Daniel
Sarafian in the
UFC on FX 7 co-main event, it could be argued that C.B.
Dollaway has earned a break -- but “The Doberman” says he has
no interest in taking his foot off the gas pedal now.

Dollaway, 29, snatched a hard-fought split decision victory over
Sarafian in a “Fight of the Night”-winning performance on Saturday
at Geraldo Jose de Almeida State Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil,
much to the dismay of the partisan crowd in attendance.

At no point did Sarafian make Dollaway’s life easy, as the American
continually found himself trying to dodge the “TUF: Brazil”
veteran’s looping hooks during the first two frames. Several times,
the Arizona State University wrestling alumnus shot for takedowns,
but each time, his attempts were thwarted.

“[It surprised me] how strong he was,” Dollaway later told Fox
Sports. “I train with guys like Ryan Bader
and Will
McCleve, national champion wrestlers, and [Sarafian] was
phenomenally strong. I couldn’t believe it. I usually have no
problem getting anyone down.”

Despite his struggles to take the fight to the floor, Dollaway
turned the tide of the fight by catching his stocky foe with a
solid uppercut near the end of the round, disrupting Sarafian’s
equilibrium in the process. Dollaway desperately searched for the
finish, but Sarafian managed to hold on for the round’s final
seconds.

“He’s a tough guy,” said Dollaway. “I thought I had him. I hit him
with that uppercut and saw him go down, and I knew it was time to
finish, and I went for it. I rolled the dice, but I didn’t get it,
and I felt it in the third round. It drained my arms going for that
finish, but I really wanted to finish this guy, so I went for
it.”

Even with his energy depleted from the effort expended in his
attempt to end the fight, Dollaway still managed to secure round
three in the eyes of the cage-side judges, overcoming a Sarafian
rally to finish the round on equal footing with his game foe. The
split decision victory marks the second-straight win for Dollaway,
who hopes to make great strides in 2013.

“[I’ll be] getting back in the gym as soon as I get back to get
ready for another fight,” Dollaway said. “I want to get three or
four fights this year and move my way into the top 10.”